Meet and Greet Friday

Since this is the first day of spring for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, I'm participating in the Meet and Greet post started by Madame Samm over at Sew We Stitch.  This is a chance for stitchers from around the world to come and visit blogs that they may have never noticed before.  I thought this would be a fun way to connect with stitchers who may be new to my blog.  So without further ado, welcome to my blog.

A little about myself for those of you who are new to Reflections of a Desert Rat.  I've lived in Phoenix for over 20 years, hence the name.  We recently moved to Denver and while it's beautiful here, my heart is still in Arizona.  I guess it's a case of once a desert rat, always a desert rat.  I worked in 3 different LNS's over the course of 20 years and I really miss not going to work every day and seeing all the lovely fabrics and threads.

I do (and have done) all kinds of crafts but my favorites are knitting/crochet, jewelry making and most of all, counted cross stitch.  I have been cross stitching for almost 36 years.  I learned shortly after I was married and I haven't stopped since.  I have found that my tastes have changed over the many years that I have been stitching, but my current favorite designers are Lizzie Kate, Ink Circles, Prairie Schooler, Blackbird Designs, old-style Shepherd's Bush, The Drawn Thread and Margaret Sherry (I just adore her little animals!).  I'm sure there are many more that I like but these are the ones that come to mind.  Some of my favorite subjects I like to stitch are flowers (I love EMS Designs for her wonderful flowers), cute little animals (in addition to Margaret Sherry, I love the Country Companions series), and some of the primitive designs.

Here are several of my favorite pieces that I have stitched.

Summer Bouquet by EMS Designs

I absolutely love this design.  I love the color, I love the arrangement.  I love the framing.  There just isn't anything I don't like about the finished product.  Stitching it was another matter.  There were times when I wanted to toss the whole thing in the trash.  But I persevered and I'm so glad I did.

 

Prairie Garden by The Drawn Thread

This is a very special piece to me.  It was stitched for my by a very dear friend back in Phoenix.  I was asked to help her pick out the framing never knowing that it was a gift for me.  It was such a surprise when she gave it to me.  She always made me feel like her granddaughter so that makes it even more precious to me.

Bee Keeper by Shepherd's Bush

I love Shepherd's Bush.  Old school that is.  I am definitely not a fan of their new style of writing.  In my not so humble opinion, it's rather difficult to read.  Lucky for me, I still have plenty of their old kits just waiting to be stitched.  I love their use of color, it's so soft.  And their designs are so whimsical.  Combine all that with a mat from Jill Rensel and you definitely have a winning combination.

Well, I do have lots more pictures but I think I'll save them for some future posts.  I hope you'll come back to visit me and perhaps choose to become a follower.  I welcome all comments and would love to make some new friends.